Finance reforms may go on back burner

Amid continued debate on the 11 recommendations of the inquiry which examined the failure of Storm Financial and the wider financial advice industry there was uncertainty about whether the Government would have time to deal with the report's recommendations before the next election.

The inquiry, the work of a bipartisan parliamentary committee chaired by Labor MP Bernie Ripoll, tabled its report on Monday. Financial Services Minister Chris Bowen said this week that he would consider its findings along with those of the Cooper review into superannuation, which reports next June. The Government can call an election at any time from early August next year until mid-April 2011.

The inquiry's recommendations included a fiduciary duty for financial advisers to put their clients' interests first.

John Brogden, chief executive of the Investment and Financial Services Association, said the Ripoll report, the Cooper review and the Henry review of taxation were "all running up to the period when the Government is preparing for an election, (when) traditionally governments begin to shut down."

Doug Clark, from the Stockbrokers Association of Australia, said some of the recommendations, including one for a new professional standards board, would go directly to the Australian Securities and Investments Commission.

"It may be that ASIC moves more quickly than the Government," he said.

ASIC chairman Tony D'Aloisio said such a board was a good proposal. However, he said "we have got to do a lot of work and look at the budgeting of it".

"We need to look at who is going to fund it, the costs, who goes on it, what is the relationship between the board and ASIC's role," he said.